Codes and Standards

  • Code Talkers

    If an inspector fails an item during inspection, he might continue looking for other issues. He also might remember your company the next time it submits plans in his jurisdiction.

     
  • Make It Official

    For the past six years, Jon Vogel, owner of New Outlooks Construction, Robbinsville, N.J., has held his inspectors license, and for two years he was a part-time building inspector.

     
  • Raise the Floor

    FEMA guidelines released in April recommend that houses in New Orleans be built at least three feet off the ground. It was a contentious decision. Some criticized it as being cost-prohibitive, while others pointed out that flood waters reached much higher than that during Katrina.

     
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    Wind-Resistant Garage Doors

    In a major windstorm, such as a hurricane or a tornado, it's the windows and doors that usually hold a house together. “Once you breach the envelope, the air rushing in pressurizes the building just like blowing up a balloon,” explains Scott Schiff, civil engineering professor and director of...

     
  • Commercial Counsel

    After a quick glance at the high-rise office buildings and road projects, the prevailing wage and bonding requirements, the copious codes, and the penalty clauses common to commercial building, the prospect of applying anything useful from the non-residential sector to a residential remodeling...

     
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    Locksets & Hardware

    The Powerbolt 1000 electronic deadbolt runs on four alkaline batteries. It retains the memory of security codes during power outages and allows the use of secondary codes for guests.

     
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    Stair Well

    Like many old homes, the back stairs in the 1800s farmhouse in The Plains, Va., being renovated by architect Anthony Barnes, Barnes Vanze Architects, Washington, D.C., had small winders, which, while efficient, were neither safe to use nor up to code.

     
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    Selling Sunrooms

    Sunroom, solarium, patio cover, porch enclosure, garden room, country room, three-season room, all-season room, conservatory. These are among the many names given to the glassed-in additions that have become popular remodeling accessories. Typically, these structures are discrete units consisting...

     
  • Window Warranties

    So much about selecting a good window comes down to the warranty,” says Chris Mathis, of MC Squared, a building-science consulting company based in Asheville, N.C. Mathis focuses on windows, doors, and skylights, serves on the ASHRAE and ASTM code committees as well as the International Energy...

     
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    Beware what lies beneath the roof

    Every re-roof requires a close inspection of the substrate. Incidental roof leaks, particularly ones that go unnoticed, can delaminate plywood sheathing or cause OSB to swell. The worst cases result in patches of rot.